


Iron

by Keef_n_Beef (Katsu_oh_hot_damn)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Artist Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Motorcycles, Panic Attacks, Shiro (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, author sucks at tags, mild homophobia - one chapter, mild violence - one chapter, non-canon compliant, please let author know if they are missing a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24010651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katsu_oh_hot_damn/pseuds/Keef_n_Beef
Summary: Shiro has just gotten a new promotion at Altea Technologies and has a bonus check burning a hole in his pocket. He would normally talk it out with his best friend on what to do, but he hasn't heard from him in six months.When he sees an ad for a new motorcycle, he figures why not?Matt and Pidge talk him into getting a custom paint job done at the Marmora Garage. Apparently, their painter is the best in the area.Shiro completely misses the look the Holt siblings give each other when he agrees to it.
Relationships: Allura/Lance (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith's Father/Krolia (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 91





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! This whole thing was inspired by a tweet about matching Harley Davidson Iron 883's by @yawarakaiarts and things just kind of grew from there. 
> 
> Prepare for Boys Who Can't Talk About Feelings, featuring Motorcycles!

“Isn’t 28 a bit too young for a midlife crisis?”  
  
Shiro should have known that when he pulled up to the Holt’s house that there would be a snarky comment from someone.  
  
“Great to see you too Sam” He laughed as he swung his leg over the body of the matte black Harley Davidson Iron 883 that officially had 25 miles on it since driving it off the lot.  
  
“Shiro! Dude! What even is this thing?!” Was all Shiro heard before Pidge came barreling out of the garage, goggles perched on her head and tools still in hand. “Do they still even make land vehicles anymore?”  
  
The world had been rapidly changing over the past two decades and hover cars and bikes had become more and more popular once they were made easily accessible. No longer was it a science fiction pipe dream or something available only to the richest out there, but Shiro could have bought a new hover bike from the same dealership for the same price. He loved his older model hover bike and wouldn’t trade it for the world, but wanted something new too.  
  
Shiro was the newest Executive Director of Charitable Content for Altea Technologies, the largest manufacturer of cybernetic prosthetics in the country. The promotion, of course, was well deserved, Shiro was the recipient of the very first prosthetic arm they had created a few years prior when they were just an upstart of three engineers and a problem to solve.  
  
While the public eye was starting to become more welcoming to elective procedures to enhance oneself, Shiro found himself in need of a new right arm after his was amputated 5 years ago due to a degenerative disease that was slowly robbing him of his life. Technology had advanced in a way that doctors were able to locate that the disease was concentrated to this arm and a few simulations run had shown that there was a good chance if the arm was amputated that he would be able to live a healthy life as the disease seemed to be concentrated there and could not survive in his body otherwise.  
  
Shiro knew, without a doubt, that this was something he needed to do. One of his biggest dreams was to explore the stars, even if manned missions were more or less a thing of the past, space tourism had started to gain popularity and affordability and he couldn’t wait to see what was out there beyond the marble he lived on and he wouldn’t be able to travel into the upper atmosphere and beyond in his current condition. It also surely helped that three of his best friends were engineers who had been working on how to infuse Earth technology with new found alien technology.  
  
Matt, Pidge, & Hunk, with some help from Lance and his at the time girlfriend Allura were able to pull everything together within 3 months to have the prosthetic ready to go. The doctors, of course, had warned him that there was a chance that this may not work, but he had to try. That was kind of his thing, diving into things head first after being about 92% sure that this would probably work. Everything went well with the operation and two weeks after the procedure had been completed Shiro was cleared to go home. It was a few months of physical therapy and working out and Shiro was in better shape than he had been in his whole life. 

However, Shiro was never the type to say thank you for help and move on with his life. No, instead he uprooted his entire career with the Galaxy Garrison and decided to help his friends change the world. He was able to start on as the Public Relations ambassador for a startup that had no name and only one success story and managed to bring in donors as well as prospective clients. Throughout the 5 years since his operation, Altea Technologies was able to donate hundreds of cybernetic prosthetics to those in need as well as become the largest manufacturer for purchase as well. 

“So does she have a name yet?” Pidge poked Shiro in his flesh bicep, “Or are you over your phase of naming things?”

Shiro groaned as he walked into the Holt’s house for their weekly dinner. The Holt’s had been his sponsor family when he had originally applied to the Galaxy Garrison while living in Japan. He had no family in the United States but knew Matt from online message boards devoted to an old show from the late 2010’s that they loved. 

“I’m still thinking about it for sure” He smirked as they sat down to dinner, “I think it needs some customization before I can really get a handle on if it needs a name or not.”

“Oh!” Matt perked up around a mouth of pot roast and a scold from Colleen, “You remember the Marmora Garage where we got Pidge’s hover bike fixed up? I saw on their website that they have an in-house painter who does detailing and amazing hand-painted work on anything and everything!”

Shiro somehow missed the knowing look that the Holt siblings shared between each other as he took a bite of his own dinner, politely finishing his mouthful of food before continuing, “Really? I didn’t know anyone still did that anymore.”

After dinner Matt sent the information over to Shiro on where they were located as well as a number to call and set up an appointment, “I think you’ll really like their work, I’ve seen it before and it really seems like he’s your type-”

“Style. Matt means that the artist's style seems like something you would like.” Pidge finished as she elbowed her older brother in the ribs.

“Okaaay” Shiro sighed with a small laugh as he gave Sam and Colleen goodbye hugs before walking back out to the motorcycle with Matt and Pidge, putting on his helmet and revving the engine. He for sure did not miss the way Pidges eyes lit up, “No you are not getting your hands on this young lady” 

“I’ll keep her in check, don’t worry!” Matt promised as he tugged his sister back a step, “But do check them out, I really think you’ll find what you’re looking for!”

“Why do I think you’re trying to set me up?” Shiro wondered out loud as he pocketed his phone, “I’ll keep them in mind, thanks guys. Go get inside before your mom finds what you dismantled in the garage!” He waved good-bye and headed down the street back to his home

\----------

Two days later, after a few phone calls to confirm some minimal specifics and appointment times, Shiro found himself in front of Marmora Garage. He walked into the small office, smiling a little bit at the small black cat that was resting on the desk that didn’t even look up as the bell above the door went off. 

Sitting at the desk was a taller, older, and well-built Galran, the tiny nametag that almost disappeared on his broad frame read ‘Kolivan - Owner.’ He stood up, suddenly dwarfing the desk and even Shiro, “Hello and welcome, can I help you?” 

“Hi there, my name is Shiro, I called earlier about looking into a custom paint job for my bike?” 

“Oh yes, we’ve been expecting you” There was a look on his face that Shiro couldn’t quite place. He had sworn he had seen it on his mother's face once when he was a kid, the face of a mother who just heard someone mention space around him and knew that her son was about to launch into a long conversation with someone about the stars. “Give me just a moment and I’ll grab our painter, he’ll be helping you with everything.” 

Shiro swore he saw a second look cross Kolivan’s features as he picked up the phone to page their painter, one that he had been given by a few fathers before taking their sons out for the evening.

“Kit, your 12:30 is here, please come to the office”

Kolivan attempted a small smile at Shiro as he hung up the phone, “He’ll be in shortly, feel free to take a seat.”

Shiro bowed a small thanks as he sat on one of the plastic chairs, hoping that the painter came in soon because Kolivan seemed a bit more than intimidating. To pass the few minutes, he pulled out his phone and was scrolling through his reference photos, all different photos that had been taken by the Hubble Telescope once upon a time before man had really explored the cosmos. The little bell on the door shook him out of his thoughts as the cat sitting on the desk also perked up and mewed at whoever came in.

Black boots leading up to light denim overalls that were covered in paint. Somewhere in there there was a loose fitting tank top, one of the overall straps was undone, showing that the tank top was also covered in some paint but also grease. A sharp chin sporting a scar on the right cheek that pointed directly to blue-violet eyes that Shiro knew could change color to more of a purple, leading up to a mop of black hair messily pulled up into a bun with a paintbrush sticking out of it.

“Hi there, I’m Kei- S-Shiro?!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's almost 6000 words of history!
> 
> I really wasn't expecting this chapter to be as long as it was, but it just kind of happened.
> 
> This chapter starts when Shiro and Keith have first met (roughly) and leads all the way through 2 years of their friendship to where chapter 1 ends.
> 
> There is a brief mention of violence and homophobia in this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy :)

Getting into the Galaxy Garrison was tough enough as it is, passing the classes could be even tougher. You could get the highest sim scores in the world, but that meant nothing if you couldn’t actually do the calculations that would help you while on missions or during an emergency. This is where Keith found himself as he looked over at his clock with tired eyes seeing that it was 03:00 and his Astrophysics test was at 08:00. He never really was able to fully comprehend it, he managed to skate by enough in his previous classes but he was really struggling at this point. He knew that all eyes were on him for this class as he was breaking all the records in the flight simulators, if he aced this class he had a real chance at being out there among the stars.

Someone somewhere said C’s get degrees right? So he just needed to get to that level. Somehow.

Keith sighed as he closed out the screen with his less than stellar score. The exhaustion of pulling an all-nighter was starting to weigh on him and he was just thankful that they received their test scores instantaneously instead of having to wait a day or longer for the professor to grade each test. 

He felt his data pad go off a few times in his pocket, knowing that he was receiving messages he really didn’t want to look at. He was here on a scholarship; his low test score was reported as all his grades are to the system that tracks the grades of scholarship recipients. To say he was on thin ice at this point would be putting it nicely. 

On the 4th set of vibrations he finally took his phone out of his pocket to see how bad the damage was.

> _**Message from:** GGAUTO-NOREPLY  
>  **Subject:** Your Scores Have Been Recorded_

> _**Message from:** GGAUTO-NOREPLY  
>  **Subject:** URGENT! Important Information Regarding Your Scholarship_

> _**Message from:** Iverson  
>  **Subject:** Watch yourself flyboy. _

> _**Message from:** Pidge  
>  **Subject:** Lunch?_

Keith groaned, swiping away the first 3 notifications and opening the message from Pidge, agreeing to have lunch with her.

“I mean, I love my dad and all but yeah his course is tough… Matt somehow managed to get an A and I had to help him with his homework half the time.”

Keith was pushing around his macaroni and cheese on his plate, he hadn’t had a chance to catch any rest yet and was more than exhausted at this point. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do...” he put down his fork with a sigh, “It was tough to get this scholarship.. I only really got it because out of all the applicants I was the only half-alien so they knew it would look good for diversity reports...”

“Shiro!” 

Keith’s head shot up, he hadn’t dozed off for a second, nope, not at all.

Pidge was waving at someone across the cafeteria, “Shiro, come sit with us!”

Keith was good at compartmentalizing, but that was when his brain was functioning at at least eighty percent capacity, which today it was at a solid zero. On any other day he probably would have been able to be ok with this. Shiro was his classmate, due to Keith’s sim scores he was in the senior level flight classes despite being a junior himself. They had each others phone numbers because they were paired together occasionally for assignments and they worked well together. Keith flew on pure instinct, Shiro helped to even out his rashness with sound decisions and the analytical side of things. 

The big problem was Keith had a type. 

A type that was 6’4” and massively thick. Had soft eyes and a soft but stern voice. Always smelled like the woods and a peaceful rainy day, even when the simulation had been going on for an hour and they were both sweaty and exhausted. Had a stomach that somehow never filled despite how fit its owner was. Had the most adorable look when he was concentrating on a calculation. Was the kindest soul ever to grace the universe?

And was walking right towards them, with a big smile on his face, and a tray loaded with two servings of macaroni and cheese. Of course he would play the student and faculty card to get a double serving for today. Ever the golden child, he only needed to smile to get that double helping on his favorite day.

“Hey guys- Keith? Keith are you ok?”

Keith only caught about half of that sentence, “..wha..?” He blinked himself awake a few more times, “Oh, Shiro, hi.”

Pidge shook her head with a sigh, “He had an all-nighter studying for dads test and didn’t do that well”

“Ouch, Astrophysics 101? Oh man, let me guess, the unit on wormholes?” Shiro asked as he was sitting down, starting to shovel food in his mouth.

Keith just grunted as he pushed another lone piece of macaroni around his plate. “I failed the test. If I get anything below a B in his class from here on out, I’ll lose my scholarship.” He had always trusted Shiro a bit more and exhaustion had worn his filter out so he was an open book around the person he trusted the most. 

“I had to retake that test too, I just couldn’t get it.” Shiro admitted, taking a sip of water.

That shocked Keith into finally looking up at Shiro, this was the first time he ever heard that Shiro was capable of failure like a normal human being.

Shiro laughed softly with a smile, putting a hand on Keith’s shoulder, “How about this, you know they will let you take the test again with an automatic twenty percent deduction, if you ace it you will still have a B recorded as your final score which will keep you safe. I still have my study guides and flashcards from that test last year. Why don’t you go get some rest and we can schedule your retake for later this week and help you study for it.”

“S-Shiro…” Keith ignored the look he was getting from Pidge, “That’s very kind of you but you have classes to teach this week.”

The laugh around a mouthful of mediocre mac and cheese shouldn’t have sounded as beautiful as it did, “Matt can teach those this week, he owes me anyway.” 

Shiro was also at the Galaxy Garrison on a scholarship as an international student, part of his scholarship required that he also take on an educational component in his senior year. Time that he spent in teaching overall counted towards course credit so he didn’t mind it. He decided to take on the job of teaching a community flight class, open to anyone in the tri-county area who was curious about how spaceships worked but didn’t want to fly anything into space any time soon. The attendees were mostly middle aged men who were trying to reignite something in their life as well as former astronauts from a time before space travel became the norm as it had in the past twenty years. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes! Seriously man, give me your leftovers and go get some rest. I’ll cover for you in class today, take the day off.”

Keith couldn’t say no to the pleading look Shiro had as he put his plate on Shiro’s overflowing tray, “Ok fine, I’ll text you tonight. Thanks again.” He didn’t trust himself to say anything else as he headed back to his dorm. 

A week later, Keith was holding his breath as he hit submit on his second run of the exam. He waited a solid minute after the score would be displayed to finally look at it. His eyes widened as he closed out of the score screen and bolted out of the thankfully empty testing center.

Shiro was waiting outside, looking at something on his data pad when he heard the doors to the testing center open. 

Black boots leading up to Garrison issued pants and a Garrison issued top. That orange never really looked good on anyone, who chose that color anyway? A sharp chin that had just lost the last dredges of baby fat and eyes that were blue-violet that Shiro knew could change color to more of a purple. Eyes that were positively glowing. A pan back down to Keith’s lips, for no reason, found a shit-eating grin.

“Shiro, I passed!” Was all the warning Shiro got before Keith launched himself at Shiro in a big hug, “Really man, I can’t thank you enough! I even got the extra credit so they’re taking the mark from the original test completely off my record!” 

“Ke-oof!” He laughed as he wrapped his arms around Keith, returning the hug and maybe holding it a bit longer than was necessary. When they finally parted, he was left speechless for a moment at how Keith’s eyes were shining, “W-We should go out to the diner and celebrate, my treat!”

Keith started to open up a bit more to Shiro after that, it seemed like he was opening up to everyone a little bit more once he knew that he was safe.

Throughout the remainder of the year Keith was formally welcomed into the friend circle that consisted of Shiro, Matt, Pidge, Hunk, Lance, Allura, and now himself as well.

Shiro had done enough teaching that he was able to graduate a semester early and ended his job with the Garrison as well since he was able to go on full time at the newly founded Altea Technologies. Allura was the brains behind the operation while Matt, Pidge and Hunk were the engineers who were working behind the scenes on new prototypes while Shiro was selling the dream to the world.

Keith and Lance were still finishing up their junior year, Lance was almost always glued to Alluras hip when possible. Keith, however, was still a bit distant on his life outside of the Garrison.

They had a weekly meeting, every Thursday night at the local diner. It had been agreed upon that they would always meet up for burgers, milkshakes, and hours of conversation until Sal kicked them out an hour after closing. The rules were that everyone showed up at six, if anyone was late they were the ones who had to pay for the last round of milkshakes.  
At six-thirty there was a message to the group chat. Shiro pulled his phone out first to check who it was from, they hadn’t seen Keith yet and he was getting worried.

> _**KeithyKat:** Sorry for the delay y’all, I am heading over now and shouldn’t be too long. See you in five!_

Shiro wasn’t sure if Keith had ever been ok with the nickname Lance and Matt had agreed upon, but he never changed it in the group chat. 

Five minutes later, Shiro was looking out of the window at their booth and saw a small dust cloud starting to kick up behind something small and fast coming up the dirt road leading up to Sal’s.

It was a matte black Harley Davidson Iron 883 with the fuel tank, front, and rear fenders custom painted a matte dusty red. 

Shiro nearly choked on his French fry as he saw the driver take their helmet off, shaking a mop of black hair out before pulling it back again. 

Keith. Keith had just gotten off the most beautiful piece of machinery he had ever seen. Of course he was biased because Keith was also the most beautiful person he had ever seen, but he wasn’t ready to unpack that yet.

Shiro finally broke out of his gay panic by the time Keith sat down in the booth next to him. “K-Keith, hi. Wow. You didn’t have that yesterday?” He completely missed the look that Pidge was giving Matt, who was sliding a twenty non-discretely to Hunk. 

“Oh, yeah, I just got it yesterday. I finally saved up enough from work and was able to get the paint job finished today.” He smiled as he stole a French fry from Shiro’s plate. 

They never talked about where Keith worked, but they had pieced together that it was something that somehow involved paint as Keith was usually sporting some on him when he met up with them after his Thursday afternoon shift. 

Shiro wouldn’t admit to it, but there was one day he was so distracted by a fleck of paint on Keith’s nose that his milkshake melted into strawberry milk before he got to it. 

It was a solid twenty minutes before Shiro drifted back to the conversation.

Their lives continued like that, everyone doing their own things but always keeping in contact when they could, and Thursdays were always their night. 

A few months later, six months before Shiro would eventually buy his own motorcycle, it was Hunks birthday and the group decided that a night at the local bar was the best way to spend it.

Shiro wasn’t ready for how Keith looked as he got off his motorcycle to meet up with everyone outside the bar. The black denim pants looked like they had been painted onto his body and showed off all of his curves. The well-worn red leather jacket he was wearing didn’t really help either. His hair had grown out enough that he always had it up in a bun or in a braid, complaining that he didn’t like wearing it down. The braid he wore today was over one shoulder and drew a bit more attention to his ears which were pointed as all Galra ears are. Shiro had never really taken much notice to Keith’s features before, he otherwise looked completely human except for his ears and eye color. 

They were having a great time celebrating the birthday boy as well as the weekend that was ahead of them. At this point, everyone had a few drinks in them and the conversation was lively.

“I shit you not!” Keith laughed as he slammed back the rest of his 3rd beer, “Iverson was still pulling dried up cow pies from his office for at least a week after they finally got Kaltenecker out of there!” 

“It was the best thing ever!” Lance was laughing too as he slapped Keith’s back mid-drink, “I still don’t know how we managed to get Kaltenecker up the stairs, who knew cows are afraid of going back down!”

Keith nearly choked on his sip, finally spitting it out, but unfortunately he wasn’t looking in the direction that he was about to aim and ended up spitting his sip of beer out right on to a patron passing by.

“O-Oh my god I’m so sorry” Keith fumbled as he started to grab some napkins to help the man clean up, “Really wow I am so sorry.”

The man in front of him was silent at first, sizing Keith up as the twenty something fumbled to try to help him. 

Keith looked up, napkins in hand, his ears were a bit red from embarrassment and the amount of alcohol he had consumed at this point, “Sir…?”

Somewhere in the background, someone was pulling on the now wet man, mumbling, “Dwayne c’mon, that’s Tex’ kid…”

The man, Dwayne, just glared at Keith before spitting on the ground in front of him, reaching between Keith and Lance for the bottle Keith had just finished, slamming it on the corner of a table to break it in half.

“That don’t mean shit Larry. C’mon half-breed, didn’t your ma teach you any sort of human manners? I don’t know what y’all do where she comes from but humans don’t do this shit!”

“S-Sir, this is a bit much…” Shiro stood, trying to get in between the two. He knew that Keith could take the man in a fight and probably even win. Keith had no problem throwing Shiro’s weight across the training rooms at the Garrison.

Shiro’s pleas went unnoticed as Dwayne raised up the bottle at Keith. “C’mon you freak, you got somethin’ to say?!”

Keith was fuming to say the least. He was trying real hard to keep his temper in check as he felt his canines extending and his claws starting to extend as well. 

“What the fuck? What the hell is up with your eyes fairyboy?!”

The next few moments went in slow motion for Shiro but also went so fast he wasn’t sure what was happening until it was over.

Keith’s eyes had blown out, their normal beautiful shade replaced by a violent yellow, he screamed as he lunged at the man before him, claws extended.

Dwayne had absolutely no defense other than the bottle in his hand as he swung up as Keith was charging towards him, not noticing the movement out of the corner of his eye.

Shiro started moving before he realized what he was doing. He swore if he could put himself between the two that maybe Keith would be spared whatever was about to happen and maybe that would stop the assailant and they could just leave. 

What Shiro hadn’t expected to see was a spray of blood as he got between Keith and Dwayne, even more so he hadn’t expected to see another one that was followed by a white shot of pain and then complete darkness.

\----------

The first noises he heard was a lot of beeping. 

His entire body hurt as he struggled to open his eyes, something was obscuring his vision a bit, “Wha…” He groaned as he looked around as he tried to focus on something, anything, that would maybe explain what was happening.

Standing to his right side was someone, he couldn’t see much other than the person was wearing black and red and had black hair. There was something big and white on the persons white cheek but he couldn’t make out what it was. 

The person just was standing there, not making any movements or talking. After what felt like years, the person finally turned and walked away. They were just at the door when Shiro was able to recognize who was in the room.

“Kei...” Before he could even get the full name out, the pain meds drug him back under again.

Keith took a deep breath, hand on the door shaking, before leaving Shiro’s room. 

The next time Shiro woke up he was a lot more aware of everything around him and he could see a bit better.

When he opened his eyes, everyone was surrounding him. To his right were Matt, Pidge, and Hunk; to his left were Lance, Allura, and Colleen Holt. Someone was missing.

“What… guys wha..where…” He slowly started to sit up, not hurting as much this time. He barely remembered waking up the first time, but he did remember seeing a flash of red and black. 

“Shiro!” Pidge nearly threw herself at him before Matt pulled her back off the bed.

“Glad you’re finally up buddy” Matt smiled as he pulled his sister back into her chair, “I’m not sure what you remember but there was a fight at the bar we went to Hunk’s birthday for… you and…Keith got caught up in the scuffle. You got hit across the face with a beer bottle… dude you’ve been in and out for a week…” He looked away a bit at the mention of Keith. 

That look dumped ice over Shiro. The heartrate monitor behind him started to beep a bit more as he sat up and blinked a few more times to clear his head, “Keith… Where’s Keith?!” He looked around wildly. 

Hunk was the one to steady him as he sat up, “It’s ok. He’s ok…” He sighed softly as he heard the heartrate monitor go back to its usual cadence, “He was released a few days ago, he got hit across the cheek and was only held for observation overnight…”

“Where is he? Is he doing ok?” Shiro pleaded, his emotions on display for all thanks to the pain medicine he was still under.

“Yeah he’s ok buddy,” Hunk smiled, “He’s been off the radar for the past few days… we’ve tried to get ahold of him but he’s not answering texts or calls from any of us.”

Colleen perked up at this as she put a hand on Shiro’s shoulder, “I’ve been keeping in touch with Krolia and Tex, he’s ok, he’s safe, he’s just…distant right now. They said he’s been basically staying in his room and not coming out for much at this point other than meals. But he’s ok, he’s not in any danger Takashi, Krolia and Tex are keeping a tight eye on him.”

Shiro went silent, trying to understand why Keith would have completely cut off like that. He had been doing so good in opening up a bit more to people and not shutting everyone out like this. When they had first met in one of their flight classes, Keith had been so closed off it took Shiro weeks to get more than three words out of him. 

The rest of the afternoon bled into the next day. Shiro was discharged mid-day with instructions on how to care for his wound and a sad look from the doctor when he confirmed that the scar was permanent. He found out through the grapevine that Keith was also permanently scarred from the fight.  
The first 2 weeks, Shiro lays low. He lets Allura know that he’s going to take some time off and she doesn’t object at all, just asks him to let her know when he’s ready to come back and if Wednesday is ok for them to bring some dinner for him. 

He spends a lot of time just lazing around his condo, not really sure what to do. The first day he had been out of the hospital he had wanted to text Keith and it took him a moment to figure out the words but he had finally done it.

Shiro sighed as he sat down on the couch, his black Maine Coon affectionately named Black curled up in his lap as he pulled out his phone, staring at the message he had sent Keith.

> _Hey Keith, it’s Shiro._
> 
> _I mean, you probably already know that since I’m a contact in your phone._
> 
> _I just got out of the hospital, I heard you were already out as well. I hope your stay wasn’t too bad, I mean who can complain about a place where turndown service includes a morphine drip?_
> 
> _Sorry, I’m rambling at this point._
> 
> _But I hope you’re doing ok, Colleen has been keeping us updated. I’m sure whatever scar you got makes you look pretty badass now._
> 
> _Wow ok, maybe I’m going a bit too far.._
> 
> _But really dude, I hope you’re ok. I miss you and miss hearing from you. I’m here if you need anything and hope we can see you on Thursday once we start that back up, maybe week after next?_
> 
> _Either way, I hope you’re taking care of yourself and I miss you. See you soon. –Shiro_

It had been two weeks since the message had been sent and it hadn’t even been read yet. The fact that Keith hadn’t even looked at it is what worried Shiro the most. No one knew why he was suddenly so distant. If the Holt’s knew something from Keith’s parents, they weren’t saying.

The next week Shiro finally has it in him to go back to work, and the throws himself back into work, needing the distraction. Everyone is warning himself about overworking himself, but he doesn’t care, he wasted time sitting in his apartment for 2 weeks and he needs to make up for lost time. 

It’s a month after Shiro had been released at the hospital that the Holt siblings found their perfect opportunity to strike. It was a rare day where both Krolia and Tex were out of the house for the majority of the day, Krolia was working at the kickboxing studio she had helped found with Kolivan and Tex was working some overtime due to staffing. Turns out Dwayne had been one of the men on Tex’ squad at the firehouse who was immediately fired once the chief had learned about what happened. 

Pidge, through no legal or ethical means, had found out that there was a package that was going to be delivered to the Kogane household that day during the timeframe that Krolia and Tex were out, that had to be signed for. Keith still lived with his parents so she had a sinking suspicion he was aware of the delivery and had been asked by parents if he could sign for it while he was out. 

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Matt questioned as they walked up the driveway, “I mean, how did you even figure this out?”

Pidge didn’t say anything as they walked up, “It has to Mattie, it has to” She whispered before stepping up to the front door and knocked.

It was a few seconds before there was a clicking of a lock being moved and a doorknob being turned.

“Can I help you…” Was mumbled behind the door before it opened fully, revealing the person they hadn’t seen in a month.

“Keith!” Pidge barreled towards him, pushing past the door that he was trying to close on her.

After a few moments of wrestling and grumbling, Keith found himself seated on his parents loveseat while Pidge and Matt were on the couch, “Hi” he finally sighed out.

“Dude! Hi. Um. Talk.” Pidge wasn’t the best at words when she had emotions overwhelming her like this.

Keith ran a hand through his hair with another sigh, which was surprisingly down. His face looked a bit more sunken in than normal and there were dark bags under his eyes. He was also sporting a new scar that looked like it had at least healed nicely. He looked back up at the Holt siblings. “Um.. hi.” 

He looked around nervously, knowing they were both getting antsy at this point.

“Keith…” Matt finally spoke up, “You got discharged and then fell off the radar, we only knew you were ok because our parents always talk to each other… what happened man?”

Keith was fidgeting with the ends of his hair, not wanting to look them in the eye, “I-I’m sorry…”

There was a beat of silence before he continued, “That night… I lost control and it could have killed Shiro. If things had gone an inch north or a few inches south he would be blind or dead or both and it’s all my fault and I can’t bring myself to try to be ok with any of this I’ve been having nightmares constantly about it where the bottle goes south and Shiro’s just bleeding out in front of me and suddenly the bottle is in my hand and I-”

“Dude, breathe… you’re talking faster than either of us can understand and you’re hyperventilating...” Pidge had somehow appeared right next to him and had put a hand on his leg. “Once more, with a little less feeling?”

Keith was silent for a few moments, trying to force the tears back that were threatening to spill over. After a few deep breaths, he continued.

“This is all my fault” was all he started with. 

“Shiro could have died, he could have been blinded or something… I keep having a lot of nightmares about it honestly. Ones where the glass goes lower and gets his neck.. sometimes I’m the one holding the bottle as he’s just lying on the ground bleeding out…”

Pidge pulls Keith into her arms as he continues.

“The day he was discharged I went to go see him, he looked so frail just lying there with that big bandage over his face. I tried to say something, anything… but he woke up for a second and I froze… he said my name I think but I was already out of the room…”

“Yeah he asked after you the second he was up…” Matt added softly. 

Keith just nodded, “Is he ok?”

Matt sat up a bit more, “Depends on your definition… he’s got a scar on the bridge of his nose that the doctors don’t think will ever go away, but that’s it. There was no other damage and he is safe and alive. He’s been a wreck though Keith, you have to know this. He spent the first two weeks after being discharged holed up in his apartment and just came back to work last week and has been throwing himself into everything he can to distract himself.”

“He texted me about a month ago…” Keith mumbled as he leaned into Pidge’s hug a bit more, “I haven’t been able to actually read the message, I’ve been too scared to. What if he hates me?”

“Did you hit your head when you dropped in the bar? Are you serious Keith?” Pidge shook her head, grabbing Keith’s phone off the table and unlocking it, seeing the new text notification staring back at her. “There’s absolutely no way he hates you, he is so fucking worried about you dude! He’s throwing himself into everything because the last time he saw his best friend was in the middle of a bar fight that he was involved in!” 

“He’s not…I’m not…” Keith started to argue.

“I don’t have it in me to fight you over Shiro’s feelings right now because he’s exhausting right now. But he misses you a lot. Please at least read the damn message and respond to him. You’re not hiding in here anymore. I get that things are weird right now and you’re not doing good. I’m not saying you have to like go on a date with him tonight or anything. But talk to the man. He’s so worried about you.” Pidge let go of him to give him a stern look.

“Matt and I are going to text you, every single day, and you better respond. You can talk to us, you know this. We’re basically your family at this point. I promise you, whatever you say stays between us unless it’s an emergency or you say it can be said to others.” She was fiddling with Keith’s phone, careful not to touch the text thread with Shiro. She did, however, find some humor in the fact that Keith had Shiro in his phone as Shiro the Hero. 

“Here,” She handed his phone back to him, “I set up a secure group chat with Mattie and myself, heaven forbid someone ever try to get into your phone that isn’t you, the thread will delete itself after 3 wrong passcode attempts”

Keith was fighting back the tears again as he took the phone from her, “Thanks guys…” He managed a small smile for the first time since the fight. It was a bit lopsided since he didn’t want to disturb the scar too much, but it was something. 

Over the next few weeks, Keith is texted every morning by either Matt or Pidge asking for him to check in and how he slept. The nightmares have started to go away and aren’t as vivid anymore.

It’s another month or so before he’s starting to slowly text again with everyone else. Except for Shiro.

Three months after Shiro is released from the hospital, Thursdays at Sal’s Diner have resumed, but without Keith. Everyone has been quiet about Keith’s communication, all being sworn to secrecy so Shiro wouldn’t find out that he was the one being left out. 

Shiro looks longingly at his phone. Once he had seen that Keith had at least read his original message, he sent small weekly updates on Thursday afternoons. Each one was read but never replied to. The one for this week hadn’t been read yet. He puts his phone facedown as he shoves another fry into his mouth with a sigh.

Four months after Shiro is released from the hospital they are spending yet another Thursday at Sal’s Diner. 

Shiro zoned out for a minute when it happened, only catching the tail end of what Lance was saying.

“…yeah Keith sent it to-” Lance was suddenly cut off when Pidge elbowed him in the side.

“What about Keith?” Shiro looked up.

“Oh I uh… Keith sent me this picture of a cat at his work… like ages ago…” He gingerly held his phone out to Shiro after analyzing it for a few moments.

“Oh it’s so cute..” Shiro leaned in to look at the photo a bit more, “Lance… either this picture is seven years old… or he sent it to you… yesterday…?”

Pidge was a bit harder with hitting Lance’s ribs this time.

The cat was out of the bag.

“Keith… has been texting you?” Shiro looked up from the phone, looking like his puppy had just died. 

Everyone slowly nodded. 

Shiro looked away, “All of you…?”

His heart sunk when everyone reconfirmed that they had been talking to Keith.

He stopped texting Keith after that. 

It’s another two months of hard work when Shiro finally gets the call from Allura that he’s officially been appointed as the Executive Director of Charitable Content for Altea Technologies. 

They go out that night for drinks to celebrate his promotion, it was the first time the went out for drinks since Hunk’s birthday, and this time they chose a different bar. 

The next day Shiro has off, he knows he has a dinner date with the Holts, but is free otherwise for the day. His bonus check is burning a hole in his pocket and he knows he wants to do something. He would usually text Keith, asking what his thoughts were.

His heart sinks when he thinks about Keith.

He lets himself dwell in the emotion for a few minutes. It’s been six months since he has heard from his best friend and he just can’t let go of the fact that this seems to be the way Keith wants things to be. 

The ad on his social media page seems to be laughing at him, an ad for a sale at the local Harley Davidson dealership. The bike being featured is the same exact one Keith had.

Shiro is out the door before he even realizes it. 

The time between when he sends Matt a text that he will be late to dinner and when he hears the small bell chime in the Marmora Garage seems like a whirlwind.

Everything freezes as he looks up at the painter and hears a voice he hasn’t heard in six months.

“K-Keith?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hi on Twitter at Keef_n_beef!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Keith spend some time working on the new design, and maybe their friendship?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't going to get angsty.
> 
> And then it did.
> 
> Not as bad as the last chapter I promise!
> 
> Updated tags for panic attacks, Keith has some in this chapter.

The small office was filled with silence for a few moments, only interrupted by Kolivan clearing his throat as he stood up, “I’ll give you boys some space”

He squeezed past the two who were just staring at each other, putting a hand on Keith’s shoulder as he left, “Remember what we talked about…” He mumbled softly to the painter as he left the office.

The ringing of the bell on the door brought Shiro back to the present as he stood, “K-Keith… You.. I..” He took a moment to recompose himself, “It’s good to see you.”

Keith just stared at him, stunned. His last remaining brain cell was screaming at him that he was starting to dissociate, feeding him some information he could remember from his therapist. 

Six months, it’s been six months since he last saw Shiro. The last time he saw him, he looked so frail lying unconscious in a hospital bed with gauze covering half of his face. Six months ago he watched in slow motion horror as Shiro put his body between himself and his assailant. 

Six months ago, Keith held an unconscious Shiro in his arms, shaking from the shock of what had just happened.

Six months ago, Keith muttered “Please be ok Shiro… I can’t lose you… I love you…” to Shiro as the paramedics gently lifted Shiro into a stretcher. 

Six months ago, Keith was discharged from the hospital and sent a quick message Pidge, Matt, Hunk, Lance, and Allura before he blocked their numbers. “I’m out. I don’t know what you heard that night before we went to the hospital, but forget it.” 

“…you want?”

Keith snaps out of it and looks up to Shiro who is staring at him with a soft flush of embarrassment, “Huh?”

“Sorry… I was saying, I can leave if you want. I-I know I’m probably not the client you were expecting or would want to work with. I didn’t realize you had worked here or I wouldn’t have… I mean, I didn’t want to make it look like I was forcing myself back into your life or anything like that”

Keith frowned a little bit as the words sunk in. Shiro always had a habit of putting himself down to make others feel better and he wasn’t about to let him get back into that habit especially since Shiro did nothing wrong here. 

“No it’s ok, really. I don’t mind” Keith managed a small smile as he pulled out his phone to check the time, “Do you mind giving me like ten minutes? I’m actually technically still on my break, my last job went a bit longer than expected.”

Shiro’s face lit up, happy to hear that Keith wasn’t immediately going to kick him out, “Of course! I can go grab us coffees if you’d like? It’s the least I can do…” He looked up, hopeful.

Keith could never say no to that puppy dog look, “If you don’t mind?”

Shiro smiled softly as he pulled his keys out of his pocket, “I don’t mind at all, I promise. Medium Americano?”

“Yeah if that’s ok?” 

“I got you, I’ll see you in a few” Shiro smiled as he left the office.

Keith waited until he heard the motorcycle engine rev up before he sunk to his knees, shaking. 

Moments later, the door opens back up with a soft jingle. Keith isn’t aware of the noise or anyone being in the office until he feels strong arms around him, helping him back up while holding him in a hug, “Breathe with me Kit…”

The soft rumbling reminiscent of a purr in Kolivan’s chest is what started to bring Keith back to the present. He blinks a few times, starting to become aware of the wetness on his face as he looks up to his boss. “Sorry…” He whispered as he tries to stand up.

“You don’t need to apologize at all, go to the breakroom and lay down for a little bit, I can stall if he comes back first or I can have him leave.” Kolivan offered as he helped Keith stand up. Everyone that worked in the Marmora Garage knew Shiro, they all had listened to Keith talk about his best friend and saw how much things had changed after he came to work with a bandage on his cheek and discharge papers in his hand. 

Keith threw himself into his work the second he was able to start working after the fight. He had tried to go to work the day he got discharged, but Kolivan knew that the worst thing that any being in the universe could possibly do was go against something that Krolia wanted and she would have his head if he let her son go back to work so quickly. 

He shakily nods as he walks out of the office and into the thankfully deserted break room and locks the door. The couch against the back wall is probably his favorite place in the entire garage aside from his own little nook. It almost feels like a hug as he sinks down into the well-worn cushions, grabbing the knit blanket off the back of it and bundling himself up in it. There’s no shortage of comfortable things in the breakroom, with the majority of the staff at the Marmora Garage being of Galra heritage in one way or another, the primal need to have something soft near them is something that can be catered to. 

It had been a while since he had broken down like this. His first day back on the job he found himself in this same position, crying and cursing at himself for being so weak. No one ever questioned him if he took a longer break than usual after the incident, it took weeks before he was as social as he used to be. 

He loses track of time for a bit as he just lets his mind float, he knows how bad it would look on the shop if he turned this job down and he can already see the look of disappointment on Shiro’s face. Shiro would never tell him directly that he was upset, but he also knows his friend well enough to know how to read between the lines. Keith knows that he has to do this, he knew eventually he would probably have to face Shiro again anyway, but just wanted it to be done on his terms.

The sound of a rumbling engine cutting off brings him back to the present again as he sits up, folding the blanket back up and putting it back where had found it. He takes a deep breath as he rubs his eyes and glances at his reflection in the metal napkin holder on another table. He can do this; he knows he can do it. He is sure he can put on his customer service face and get it done. The rest of his day had been cleared out for this appointment because he knew it was going to be a big job, he can mentally check out and go through the motions to get this done as long as he doesn’t look up and see the scar. 

Keith walks towards the office as Shiro is just about at the door, their eyes meet and Keith doesn’t think he can do this anymore. 

“Sorry it took so long!” Shiro’s smile was blinding, “Apparently they released some new drink that people were going crazy over… I think I saw Lance in there too, taking a thousand photos of something very pink?” He shrugged as he handed Keith his cup.

Seeing that smile again starts to thaw the ice that Keith had so carefully crafted around his heart over the past six months. He takes a deep breath as he takes the cup from Shiro, trying to ignore the small spark of energy as their fingers brushed against each other.

“That sounds about right for him,” Keith laughs a bit as he takes a sip, feeling the coffee reach his soul and calm him down, “Alright, let’s get to this” He smiled as he leads Shiro over to his area of the shop. 

There’s only a small handful of places in the universe that Keith truly feels at home and in his element. His nook in the shop is one of the top places. It’s a quiet back corner that is open to the rest of the shop’s noises. One wall is filled with various paints, airbrush equipment, and traditional brushes as well. The other wall is where Keith does all of his work, on the desk is a few sketchbooks littered around as well as a laptop connected to a drawing tablet. A few markers are strewn about the space as well. There’s a space themed mural on the wall leading about halfway up, a galaxy that the world has never seen, but also looks so familiar. 

Shiro isn’t sure how the space just screams Keith, but it does. It is chaotic and elegant all at the same time, full of disorder and fire and raw energy but also love and a gentle touch once you look past the defenses. His heart is pounding in his chest as he looks around the space and takes in everything, he can tell that this is a space where Keith truly feels safe and can be himself. He knows that finding that kind of space is rare for Keith. He knows he needs to respect this space, that showing anyone this space may not be easy, let alone showing it to himself. 

Shiro wonders, idly, if Keith lets all of his clients come back here or not as Keith grabs a spare chair for him to sit down in. Considering the fact that it’s in the very back of the garage he thinks that clients may not come back here a lot, it could be a liability. The looks they were getting from the other garage staff, Kolivan included, as they were walking back helped cement the fact that this is not a normal thing that Keith does. He thanks Keith as he sits down, careful to hold on to his own drink, not wanting to disturb the space.

Keith gives him a small smile as he moves some stuff off a corner of the desk closest to Shiro, “You can relax man, you’re acting like everything will break” He laughed softly as he motioned to the spot where Shiro could put his drink. He knew that his defenses were dropping way too fast, but he could put them back up after this was over. If there was anyone that he would never screw up a project for, it’s Shiro. He would do whatever it takes to make sure that this is perfect. 

Even if it meant that tonight he would go home, lock himself in his room, and cry himself to sleep.

“So I have the reference images that you sent me…” Keith settles into his usual consultation mode as he pulls the images up on his laptop, the screen mirrored on a bigger monitor sitting behind his laptop. “It looks like overall you really want this to have red, white, black, and purples, yeah?”

Shiro hadn’t even noticed how much red he had chosen until this moment when the reference images were sitting blown up in front of him. 

Red, the color that everyone associated with fire. 

Red, the color that Shiro associated with Keith. The two associations went hand in hand really, Keith was pure fire, burning bright and blazing brighter than any star or planet out there. He had never seen something burn as brilliantly as Keith does.

“Looks like it, yeah” Shiro sheepishly admits, nervously scratching the back of his neck.

“It’s perfect” Keith offers Shiro a sincere smile, “Really, those colors are my favorite to work with and it will pop so well on that matte black body” he nearly purrs as he talks about the motorcycle sitting out front.

Keith hasn’t allowed himself to think about the fact that Shiro owns the same motorcycle as himself yet. He isn’t sure if he will ever allow himself to really sit and think about it. There’s too much to unpack there.

They work for the next few hours on ideas, Keith had some sketches already made up and works with Shiro’s wish list and suggestions to help create something that will look perfect. 

It’s close to closing time when Keith looks up to Shiro, “I have to ask, because you won’t believe how many people have the wrong answer to this question, you do have another vehicle you can drive while I’m working on this yeah?” They had discussed the timeline that it would probably take about 3 weeks for the whole thing to be done, Keith would be hand-painting a lot of the elements and was only able to commit a few hours a day to it as he also helped around the shop with general repairs and smaller paint jobs that came through. 

Shiro had no problem with how long it would take, he had seen a lot of Keith’s past work as they went through everything as well as what his own project was starting to become and knew that the wait was worth it. He was also glad to know that he wasn’t overly taking away from his normal job with this request. 

“Yeah, Matt is letting me borrow his car so you’re good” He smiled as his phone dinged in his pocket. “Oh, speaking of…” he trailed off as he took a breath, not sure how this conversation would go. “Um, it’s Thursday… I know it’s been a while, but we still meet up at Sal’s for dinner if you wanted to join?”

Keith froze. 

He knew, through Pidge, that their weekly meetups were still happening. She texted him every week to let him know that they were still going and that Shiro was still moping. 

He reached for his phone and was able to silence it seconds before the texts from Pidge came through.

> _Hey Red, we’re going out to Sal’s tonight if you want to join?_
> 
> _You HAVE to come tonight dude, seriously, I don’t think I can watch him just stare at your seat anymore. Please, save me._
> 
> _Plus, I know he’s sitting next to you right now._

Keith was not going to ask about how Pidge knew that, but probably had something to do with a GPS tracker that was somewhere on them… or in them. 

He had been able to switch his brain off and work purely on instinct for the past few hours and all of his senses were slowly starting to come around as he was realizing just what was going on. What he had been doing.

Who he had been sitting across from for four hours.

The panic rises in his chest before he even knows it’s happening. 

Everything is suddenly too bright, too loud.

“I-I’m sorry, but I have something with my parents tonight” Keith mumbles, unable to look up at Shiro. “Um so, if you can bring the bike back on Monday morning I can start working on it” his hands are shaking as he tries to tidy up his space a bit.

Seeing the sudden change in Keith shatters Shiro’s heart, he knows that it’s as clear as day on his face but knows Keith can’t see it if he doesn’t look up. “Yeah… yeah I can have it here when you open on Monday” He offers softly.

“Ok, that’s good” Keith still doesn’t look up as he walks Shiro to the front of the garage where his bike is waiting. 

“I’ll see you then Keith.” Shiro gives a soft smile as he walks towards his bike and heads off to Sal’s.

Keith watches him go, unaware of anything happening around him. 

When he turns around to go back to his station to wrap up some things, he nearly runs right into Kolivan.

“I already clocked you out, your mom is almost here, you’re not driving home in this condition. Regris already brought your bike in.” His arms are crossed but his face is soft as he leads Keith back to the breakroom where he can sit and wait for Krolia. 

He’s never responded to Pidge’s weekly texts about meeting up at Sal’s, but he pulls his phone out of his pocket and sends a response before shutting off his phone all together.

> _Fuck you.  
> _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come yell at me on Twitter @Keef_n_beef <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith takes some time to get over a few things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't exactly expecting to be back the next day with a new chapter but here we are!
> 
> In this house we support talking about how you feel.
> 
> And we love Krolia and Tex. 
> 
> This chapter is a little bit of everywhere, giving some insight into how Krolia as well as the other Galra ended up on Earth.

Krolia had a lot of things running through her mind as she drove to the Marmora Garage. She knew she was pushing it on the speed limit, but also knew that her son needed her right now. 

It had been a lazy afternoon for Krolia and Tex, one of the rare quiet ones where neither were at work and Tex wasn’t on call at the fire station either. They were enjoying a peaceful afternoon together, taking a break for lunch on their back porch.

Tex was out in the yard playing fetch with Keith’s space wolf Kosmo, when Krolia’s phone rang.

She was a bit confused when she saw the caller ID came through as Kolivan’s number instead of the garage. 

“Kolivan? Is everything ok?” It wasn’t rare that she would get a call from her longtime friend, but rare that it came from his number rather than the garage if it was during the day. 

“Yes and no” Kolivan sighed on the other end of the line. Galra were never ones for small talk, after a few years of blending in with the locals it’s come a bit easier, but still hadn’t become second nature to those who had come to Earth long after their youth. 

That didn’t really help much, “Who did he yell at this time?” Krolia sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. Keith had been getting better with his attitude and controlling his emotions, but there were still times when it would get the best of him. 

“No one, at least yet” Kolivan laughed a bit on the other end, “You know how he had a consultation today, with Shiro?”

Krolia nodded, they knew who his client was the whole time. 

Kolivan had answered the phone when Shiro called to set up the appointment. When the name was given, he knew without a doubt that this was the same Shiro meant the world to Keith. The same Shiro that Keith refused to let himself near ever since the incident. 

“Yes. How is he doing?”

“Not sure yet, he had a small panic when he had a minute alone, Shiro went to go get them some coffee and I found him curled up in the office shaking and crying. He had some time to calm down and Shiro has come back since. They’ve been back in Kit’s office working on his bike since. I’ll keep you updated, he’s definitely not himself right now from what I’m seeing.”

“That’s at least better than what we had hoped for. I was worried that him just seeing Shiro would set him off. I know his therapist has been suggesting that they try to meet up in a neutral environment, and he’s been getting so good at handling his emotions and talking about it. I’m worried this may set him back, but I’m glad he is handling himself.”

“Yes, he truly has gotten better in the past six months.” Kolivan agreed, “Hopefully he can keep himself in check for the rest of this appointment.”  
They talked for a while longer, Krolia realized that Kolivan had called from his personal phone instead of the garage since he was watching from one of the upstairs offices that didn’t have a phone, making sure that Keith was doing ok. 

Krolia had come to Earth ten years before Keith was born, coming on a humanitarian mission from Daibazaal. Her squadron was working with a local fire department in a small town in the Southwest. She was only supposed to be planet side for two months, but put in her resignation within two weeks after a few late nights with one of the firefighters. 

Five years before Keith was born, she met Kolivan and a group of Galra that had recently come to Earth. They said they were from the Marmora clan and had been traveling the galaxy working as humanitarians for decades, never truly settling down but staying for a few years here and there to help the local communities and learn more about the world around them. It was still rare to come across another Galra outside of their home planet so Krolia was quick to befriend them, and her husband was just as quick to welcome them with warm arms and treat them as family. 

Kolivan saw that their ability to help the humans, in this area at least, would be to help them learn how to fight. The universal political climate had been calm for years, but self-defense was always a good tool. Krolia worked with Kolivan over the years to start a kickboxing studio as it was the fighting style most similar to the one used on Daibazaal. Tex helped by getting some of his coworkers in some classes to learn the full art, as well as some one-day self-defense classes to help those who maybe didn’t want to commit, but still wanted to learn.

He never grew tired of watching his wife throw Kolivan over her shoulder like he weighed nothing. 

It had been five years since the Marmora clan had arrived in their small town and Kolivan was starting to talk with Krolia about how they may start to move on, and wanting to leave the studio in her care. They were going to meet up for a late breakfast to go over the details, but Krolia never showed up.

Tex called Kolivan an hour after she was supposed to arrive that Krolia was not feeling well and apologized that she had not come over. He wasn’t expecting Kolivan and Regris to be at their front door ten minutes later. 

Krolia had woken up that morning not feeling well and was currently resting on the couch, “Kolivan…” She smiled a bit as she sat up, “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it”

Kolivan shook his head as he knelt in front of her, “It’s quite alright Krolia, you are with child, you shouldn’t be pushing yourself.”

Regris barely caught Tex before he hit the floor.

Human pregnancy tests didn’t really account for Galra DNA, but Kolivan could sense it the moment he was near Krolia.

Because Krolia had become an unofficial part of the Marmora clan, the decision was made that Kolivan, Regris, and Antok would stay on Earth to help Krolia through her pregnancy as well as help raise her child if needed. They knew and trusted Tex, but also wanted to help as humans really didn’t know how to raise Galra children, and no one knew just how Galra the child would be. 

The entire Marmora clan ended up staying, Kolivan put the kickboxing studio in Antok’s hands as him and Regris started to work on their new adventure, a mechanic shop, so they could continue to help the community. Because they had spent so much time around the galaxy, they had a lot of expertise in new-age technologies that Earth born and raised mechanics may not. 

Krolia is brought back to the present when she hears the tone in Kolivans voice shift with a sudden curse, “What is it?”

“I need you to come pick Kit up. He’s spiraling. I’m going to go make sure he’s ok, but he’s going to need you” was all Kolivan said before hanging up. 

She quickly let Tex know that Keith wasn’t doing well and she was going to pick him up. The fact that Kolivan wouldn’t trust Keith to drive spoke volumes.

When she got to the garage she saw that everything was closed up even though it was still an hour before the shop would usually close. She had a spare key to the side door and let herself in, noting that Kolivan was in the office before heading to the breakroom. 

Seeing the universe as she had had helped her learn about so much, and she still felt that she didn’t know everything there was to learn about humans. With her son presenting as more human than Galra, it was hard sometimes to know truly when and where his Galra traits were. The first time they really had any inkling of where some of his hidden traits may be were six months prior when she got the recap about how her son had acted during the fight. 

That being said, she wasn’t sure what she was about to walk in to. Keith really started to act out in ways that they knew wasn’t usual for him after he had been discharged. He was pushing himself to limits beyond what he could handle and was severely withdrawn and quiet. They had been able to get him in with a good therapist who helped him work through everything. His therapist was just starting to suggest that maybe he could try to, within a few months, see Shiro again, in a calm and neutral environment. 

Kolivan had approached her when he got the appointment request from Shiro, she had made the ultimate decision to let it happen. Keith had made strides in his recovery and was doing well, she felt that a safe space like the shop would probably do him well. She wasn’t so sure anymore. 

She gently opened the door to the breakroom, “Keith? Honey I’m here…”

Keith was curled up on the couch, bundled in the blanket, shaking as he sobbed. “I-I thought I could do it Ma…” He looked up at her with tear filled eyes. 

She was at his side an instant, wrapping him up in her arms, “And you did great Keith, I’m so proud of you. You don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with. We can talk about this more tonight but you just need to rest for now my star, everything is going to be ok.” She held him close as she hummed a lullaby she used to sing to a very fussy baby.

Keith just clung to her as he tried to relax, letting the melody soothe him as much as possible. The adrenaline from earlier was fading fast and he was starting to crash. He wasn’t sure if it was a human thing or a Galra thing but he craved comfort, he craved to be held and loved and know that he was safe and secure. It wasn’t long before he was conscious of his breath finally evening out and his mind shutting down.

Krolia smiled when she felt the shift in Keith’s presence, looking down to her son as she moved some hair from his face. Coming to Earth, staying, and then having a child was never in her plans, but she wouldn’t change anything. She never felt that she would be a good mother, but her instincts showed her differently and she was so proud of the man her son had become. She never mentioned it to anyone, but she had a soft spot for his scar that resembled her own Galra markings.

She sat there for a few more minutes before scooping Keith up in her arms, blanket and all. 

Kolivan met her at the front door, “I rescheduled his appointments for tomorrow so make sure he stays home. He’s supposed to start working on the bike on Monday, I’ll let you talk that out with him and let me know how it goes” 

Krolia nodded her thanks to Kolivan as she got Keith settled in her car.

Tex was on the front porch with Kosmo when she pulled in, the space wolf rushing to the passenger side of the car when she stepped out.

“Hey there buddy” She laughed as she opened the door, watching as Kosmo immediately put his head in Keith’s lap, whining softly, “He’s ok, but can you take him to his room?” She cooed as she scratched behind his ears. 

Kosmo yipped what was hopefully a yes as he glowed blue, transporting himself and Keith to his bed. The space wolf curled up nice and close to his person and settled in for a nap.

Tex hugged Krolia as soon as Keith and Kosmo were gone, “Let’s get you inside Lil’ Mama” He smiled as he took her hand with a soft kiss, “Chinese takeout is on the way, we can spend tonight however y’all want to” 

Keith woke up a few hours later, still bundled up in the blanket with Kosmo wrapped around him. He laid there for a few minutes, trying to remember how exactly he got home. The memories slowly started to flood back and he felt Kosmo shift, his hand with a cold nose. “I’m ok boy, I’m ok…” He untangled himself form the blanket as he stood, stretching as he walked towards the door with Kosmo on his heels.

When he opened the door, he heard music coming from the living room, the same songs he grew up hearing as a kid. It warmed his heart to see his parents still in love with the same old country love songs from his youth. He quietly closed the door behind him as he headed into the living room, seeing his parents slow dancing near the couch, a few takeout containers on the coffee table. The lighting was low and the fireplace was lit, giving an overall soft and warm energy to the room. 

Krolia looked up first, giving Tex a kiss on the cheek before separating from him. “Hey there kiddo, how are you feeling?”

“Like I slept for a thousand years” Keith yawned as he stretched, heading directly for the couch.

“You needed it, that’s for sure” Krolia smiled as she grabbed some of the boxes from the coffee table, “Take a load off, I’ll heat you up a plate”

Tex sat on the couch with Keith and pulled his son in close, “How you feelin’ kiddo?” 

Keith all but wilted into his dad’s arms, “I don’t know dad… I mean, I was doing good, I thought I had a good handle on everything.” He takes a deep breath, “And then Shiro asked if I wanted to join him and everyone else at Sal’s like we used to. It’s like, the second he said that, my brain caught up with what was happening and that he was here and I just panicked.”

“And that’s ok Keith” Tex smiled as he rubbed his sons back, “It’s ok that you panicked, it’s the first time you’ve seen him since something traumatic happened that involved him directly. Your reaction is totally understandable and you shouldn’t think any less of yourself because of it. I know you’re headstrong, you want to be ok and be able to do this with no problems, but you also know it’s ok to not be ok sometimes.”

Tex came from a family that stressed the importance of mental health, and how it was always best to talk things out and be honest about your feelings. When he started at the fire station he helped bring in counselors and other resources to help everyone he worked with, knowing that their industry was one that could use the help. He was relieved to learn that Krolia was also very open about mental health as well as they chose to raise Keith to always be able to talk about his feelings. They knew together that he wasn’t always one to share with strangers, and that was ok, but as long as he had a trusted and strong support network that he would be ok. 

“Thanks dad…” Keith sniffled as he sat up, “I want to do this, I really do. I don’t think there’s anyone else in the universe who could give Shiro exactly what he wants. I just… need to get over myself.” 

“That makes sense” Krolia smiled as she came back in, handing Keith a plate of food, “Take some time to just think about it this weekend. You know Coran will do a video session with you if you need it.”

“Yeah” Keith mumbled between bites of food, “I don’t think I should work tomorrow.”

Krolia shook her head, “We already took care of that, Kolivan just asked if you can let him know if he needs to cancel your appointment on Monday with Shiro” 

Keith nodded as he shoved another mound of rice in his mouth. “Thanks Ma.”

He knew that if he could hear Shiro’s name so quickly after a bad panic attack and not freak out, that he had to be doing better somehow.

He had dreamt of beautiful galaxies in reds, purples, and whites. 

He knew, without a doubt, that he needed to do this.

For the both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come yell at me on Twitter! @Keef_n_Beef


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello? Is this thing on?
> 
> Hey everyone! 
> 
> So sorry about that month in between chapters! Life got a little bit crazy for a hot minute but I was finally able to get this chapter finished! 
> 
> This chapter for sure is a bit shorter than the last, but I hope I can make up for it in the next few chapters
> 
> And now, we proudly present, dense boys on motorcycles part 5!

When Shiro walks into Sal’s, his eyes are on Pidge and Matt. He had time to think about this on the drive over and it only made him more and more upset when he continued to think about it. 

“I can’t believe you guys” He growled as he stood at the head of the table, not sitting down. He crossed his arms as he glared down at the Holt siblings.

Pidge just grinned while Matt looked like he had seen a ghost, “Listen buddy, we can explain…” Matt tried to plead.

“You knew. You both knew. Am I right?”

Matt just nodded.

Shiro sighed, “I can’t believe you two…” he repeated, “I know we all miss Keith, but that was dirty. He was absolutely terrified to see me. He had at least 2 panic attacks the entire time we were together. I want to see him as badly as you do but that wasn’t right.”

“But Shiro, we-” Pidge started, knowing her brother wouldn’t say anything at this point.

“I don’t want to hear it, Katie. I’ve never seen Keith more upset in my life. That wasn’t how I wanted to see him again.”

Pidge lowered her head, if anyone ever called her Katie it was never a good thing. “Shiro…”

“No, this was going too far. You two need to cool it, I’ll see you next week.” Shiro said nothing else as he turned and walked back out. 

Shiro sighed as he started up his motorcycle, today was supposed to be a good day and it was falling apart. He really had thought that things were going to be ok, that he and Keith could work through this and be ok. 

Sometimes zoning out while you’re driving isn’t advisable, but sometimes your mind needs it. 

Shiro remembers leaving Sal’s, but doesn’t remember taking the right amount of turns that he ends up on Keith’s driveway. A flash of panic runs through his mind when he realizes where he is, worried that Keith may see him and think he’s stalking him. Instead, he looks up at the porch and sees Tex smiling at him, Kosmo already bounding up to his motorcycle. 

He parks his motorcycle on the front drive, laughing as Kosmo nearly jumps on him, “Yes hi hello to you too” He accepts some kisses and returns the favor with some pets as he sees Tex walking towards him.

His life flashes before his eyes for a moment.

“Long time no see, Shiro” Tex smiles as he put his hand out to Shiro, pulling the other into a hug.  
The hug takes the breath out of the lungs in an instant, he was worried that ending up here would lead to a bad night overall, but that hug says otherwise.

“It’s good to see you too, sir” Shiro smiles back as Tex motions for him to join him on the porch. Shiro learned early on that Keith’s upbringing was mostly in part to Tex being a good old-fashioned southern boy and that meant never saying no when you were invited into the home. 

As soon as Shiro sits down on one of the chairs on the large porch, Kosmo is once again trying to get all of his attention. 

“So I hear you had quite a day today?” Tex says after a few minutes.

Shiro freezes as he’s petting Kosmo, “Y-Yes sir, you could say that.”

Tex nods with a smile, “I know it doesn’t count for much, but I’m glad y’all were able to see each other. Truthfully, son. It may not have been the best way to do it, but it opened a door that he was keeping shut for far too long”

“I really didn’t intend for it to happen this way…” Shiro trails off, “Matt and Pidge had given me the address and I didn’t know he worked there until he walked in the office, I promise you sir I didn’t mean to force it. I even offered to go somewhere else so he didn’t need to push himself on this. I truly have meant to give him time, I still don’t know exactly what’s going on, but it seemed like he wanted to distance himself from me as much as possible after Hunk’s birthday and while I don’t get it, I also didn’t want to put myself back in his life until he was ready, if he ever was going to be ready...”

Tex is silent as he lets Shiro get everything off his chest, even offers him a moment to catch his breath before speaking, “I know” He reaches over and gives Shiro’s hand a soft squeeze, “Really, there’s a lot going through his mind that ain’t my place to say, but we know you and we know you aren’t the type would purposefully do something like that. Those Holt’s on the other hand? That’s a different story.” He laughs softly. 

Shiro smiles, opening his mouth to say something as he’s cut off by the sound of an engine coming closer that sounds identical to his own motorcycle. His blood runs cold, if Keith is coming up the drive this is going to look so bad.

He holds his breath as the mirror image to his own motorcycle is parked next to his. His mind tells him for a second that the two look amazing sitting next to each other, but that thought leaves as fast as it came. 

The figure turns off the motorcycle, getting off while taking their helmet off as well and shaking their hair free.

Shiro finally breathes again as he sees that it’s Krolia walking towards them. He notices her looking up at the roof of the home and shaking her head with a soft laugh before continuing towards the porch. 

“Shiro!” She smiles as she wrangles an over-excited Kosmo off of her, “It’s great to see you”

“Likewise” He smiles as he tries to take in anything that may give off if he’s about to get yelled at. Keith takes after his mother in so many ways, it’s a bit startling to see how similar the two are when they are standing next to each other. 

Krolia joins them on the porch for a while as they catch up on what they have all been up to in the months since Hunk’s party. They also talk about how the day went, with both Krolia and Tex assuring Shiro multiple times that no one is mad, not even Keith, about everything that happened. 

Was it a bit shocking? Yes, for sure. But everyone was good and there were no hard feelings. 

Krolia spoke a bit more freely on Keith and how he has been feeling, but still left out a lot, mentioning that it wasn’t her place to say everything. She reassured Shiro that Keith was ok, just that he was needing some time to work through some things.

The sun was long gone when Shiro finally glanced at his phone, realizing he had been sitting with them for a few hours.

They said their goodbyes and Shiro headed back home, feeling a lot lighter after his conversations with Keith’s parents.

Once Krolia was sure Shiro was gone, she sighed and crossed her arms while looking up at the roof again, “Kit, you have ten seconds to get off the roof before I make you pull weeds tomorrow”

She’s met with the sound of scurrying similar to a cat and a window sliding closed.

“How long was he up there?” Tex asks as they go back into the living room.

“I think he came out when I pulled up.” She gave her husband a kiss as they tidied up from dinner and headed into their room for the evening. 

Upstairs, Keith was sitting on his bed, Kosmo taking up most of the space. He had climbed from his window to his favorite stargazing spot on the roof when he heard the second engine pull up. He had heard Shiro downstairs already but wasn’t in the mood to eavesdrop until he heard his mom pull up. He was happy to hear that his parents were good at explaining basically how he also felt. There truly wasn’t any anger at Shiro, he was still a bit upset with Matt and Pidge for how they set this up, but he was starting to feel hopeful that maybe he could actually start to allow Shiro to come back into his life again.

He knew that he was the only one stopping it from happening, but there was so much that happened that night and he was just starting to get through it all in therapy and be ok with it. He still blamed himself for the scar on Shiro’s face and wasn’t sure if he would ever allow himself to be ok with the fact that the person he cared for most in the world was permanently scarred thanks to his own actions. He would never admit it out loud, but the scar did just somehow seem to fit, and he wondered how it would look surrounded by a blush. 

Keith shook the thought from his head as he laid down, he grabbed his phone and turned it back on, ignoring all the messages from Pidge as he opened a text conversation he hadn’t in a long while. 

Shiro was getting ready for bed when he heard his phone go off. He had just texted Allura that he was taking the next day off so figured that she was responding to that. He was surprised to pick up his phone and see that he had a new message from someone who hadn’t messaged him in a long while.

> _It’s good to have you back._

He nearly cried tears of relief as he quickly sent his response to Keith. 

> _It’s good to be back_

The weekend went by pretty quickly, both Keith and Shiro laying low for the weekend, taking time to work on themselves a bit and to get ready for the weeks ahead.

Monday morning, Shiro drove to the Marmora Garage. He had some anxiety as he walked up the gravel path to the garage entrance, while he knew that things were ok, he wasn’t sure how ok they were.

Keith was walking out of the garage as Shiro walked up, his eyes sparkling in the daylight. “Good morning Shiro” He smiled, truly smiled.

Shiro could have died happy on the spot, “Morning to you too” He laughed softly as he handed over the keys, “Take care of her?”

“I think I can do that” Keith returned the laugh, letting his hand graze Shiro’s for a few seconds longer than necessary, “I’ll keep you updated on everything if you want to swing by on Friday you can to see how it looks so far?”

“Sounds like a plan!” Shiro thanked Keith again before going into the office to set up payment with Kolivan for everything.

While Kolivan was running his card, he looked at the window that looked out to the garage and smiled as he saw Keith wheeling his motorcycle to his workstation with a smile on his face.

“He usually goes on break around 12” Kolivan muttered for absolutely no reason to Shiro as he handed him back his card. 

Shiro blinked and nodded before thanking Kolivan and left the office, not sure what to do with that information as he walked back out to where Matt was waiting to get them to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Twitter! @Keef_n_beef


	6. Chapter 6

The week went by without any hiccups for both Keith and Shiro, which was welcomed given how the week prior had been.

Shiro leaned back in his chair on Friday as he looked at the clock on his desk, it was 11:30 am. He knew that he was only a twenty-minute drive from the Marmora Garage, and what Kolivan had told him was still echoing in his head. He had considered texting Keith all week, wondering how the progress was going but didn’t want to seem too pushy. 

It took another two minutes of indecisiveness before he was emailing Allura that he was taking the rest of the day off, shutting down his laptop and leaving before he even got an answer. She wasn’t in the office either, taking the day to look after Lance who got bit too cocky with his hoverbike the night before.

The trip to Sal’s was fast and he was in and out probably faster than he had ever been in his life. His brain caught up with him as he turned on Matt’s car and headed onto the main road that would bring him to the Marmora Garage. He didn’t even know if Keith was working today, if he had something he was craving for lunch, or if he even wanted to see Shiro. 

He let the anxiety wrack his brain for the rest of the drive, but managed to shut it off as he pulled into a parking spot, grabbing the bag of food as he got out of the car. 

Taking a deep breath, Shiro opened the door to the main office, having some flashbacks to how the week prior had gone.

“Oh thank god…” Kolivan muttered as he looked up and saw Shiro coming in. The cat that had been napping on the desk sleepily looked up before resettling back down to continue its nap.

“Um, hi. I was wondering if Keith was in?” Shiro smiled sheepishly, not exactly sure how to explain this if Keith wasn’t working. 

“Of course, give me one-minute” Kolivan’s face twitched in what may be a smile, but Shiro wasn’t that sure, as he walked out into the main garage.

Fridays were usually chill days for Keith, he generally was able to take more time to work on personal projects, only being pulled to help with the regular shop work if there was something crazy.

Today was one of those days. 

He had somehow slept past his alarm by a few minutes, which was rare enough for him that it messed up his morning routine. The only other times he had been late to work before were for actual emergencies so he knew that Kolivan wasn’t mad at him, but that didn’t stop himself from beating himself up about it.

Once he had gotten some mediocre coffee in his system, he had hoped he would have a second to reset his brain and get to work. That dream died the second he heard the tell-tale sound of a tow truck coming up the gravel path to the garage. Technology had evolved enough that cars really didn’t need to be towed unless there was something majorly wrong with it, mobile mechanic vehicles had advanced that they could fix most roadside issues.

Keith walked into the main area of the garage as he saw what was being unloaded from the tow truck.

“Oh, I’m going to kill him…” He muttered as he saw the hoverbike being placed into an empty workspace. The entire side was sheered as if it had been slashed with a rock. 

Keith knew that hoverbike. He knew that candy blue shine, that gold pinstripe that had been hand-painted on the side, the word ‘sharpshooter’ that had been carefully hand-painted as well on the side that was now torn. 

He took out his phone and opened up a text to Lance, sending a picture of the mangled side of the hoverbike.

You’re lucky this is fixable. I’m going to make sure Kolivan charges you triple for this; you know how long that hand lettering took?!

Surprisingly, there was no reply.

The decision was made to let Keith do the repairs to the bike and paint job since he had done the paint job to begin with and knew how to do the repairs without causing any more damage to the paint job. He would never admit it, but this paint job was how he met Lance and it was one of his favorite lettering jobs. 

That was hours ago.

“Kit! You have a visitor!” Kolivan’s voice boomed probably louder than it should have over the otherwise quiet garage.

“Wh-Fuck!” Keith cursed as he banged his head on the undercarriage of Lance’s hoverbike, having not given himself enough clearance as he rolled out from under it, covered in oil and grease.

Kolivan shook his head, “Office, when you’re ready” was all he said before going back into the office, “He will be just a second” he nodded to Shiro as he took a seat back down at the desk.

Shiro heard the door open and looked up as Keith entered, his heart leaping to his chest. 

Keith looked like he had just finished running a marathon and still had another triathlon to go ahead of him. 

“Um, lunch?” Shiro shrugged, holding up the bag of food before Keith could say anything. He knew that look in Keith’s eyes, that he had been working on something that frustrated him and he needed a break from it before he completely combusted.

“Perfect timing, Keith’s break should be starting now anyway.” Kolivan interjected, shooting a look at Keith.

Keith took a second, composing himself before offering a small smile to Shiro, “That sounds great. There’s a table out back we can use. I can go grab us drinks really quick.”

Shiro thanked Keith as he headed towards where Kolivan said the table was, it was a small outdoor break area that was actually rather beautiful with succulents and other greenery surrounding a stone table with chairs. The weather was perfect for an outdoor lunch and Shiro couldn’t be happier as he set out the food for Keith and himself. 

“Oh man, you got Sal’s?!” Keith nearly beamed as he walked over to the table, setting down a water in front of Shiro before setting his own down and taking a seat. “You have no clue how bad I need this after today.

“Let me guess, Lance’s bike got towed here?”

“Is the destruction of artworks something you can justify murder for?”

Shiro laughed as he took a bite of his burger, “If you can hide a body well enough” 

“I know enough people, that can be arranged…” Keith muttered darkly with a smirk as he shoved some fries in his mouth. 

Shiro laughed as their conversation lulled into silence for a good ten minutes or so. 

It was a comfortable silence, with a small amount of tension, but nothing that they couldn’t talk out together.

“Shiro, I...” Keith started as he finished his burger. 

“So how-” Shiro started at the same time. 

They awkwardly tried to restart the conversation and Keith finally gave in, letting Shiro go first.

“Sorry…” He smiled a bit, “How are you? How have you been?” He of course was itching to ask about the bike but also wanted to actually talk to Keith, get a feel for what really happened that night. 

“I’ve been, ok? I mean, I work and then go home, that’s about it?” Keith shrugged, not sure how to respond other than that. He had a feeling he knew where Shiro was going, but wasn’t sure if he was ready to open that box just yet.

Shiro nodded as he took his last fry, he could see the walls Keith was slowly building up to ensure that a very specific topic was not brought up and he wasn’t sure how to approach it, so he dropped it.

“How’s the bike?”

The visible difference in Keith’s body language was instant as he was able to switch back into work mode, “It’s coming along, I’ll admit it’s a bit slower than I was wanting. I was supposed to be able to have the full day to work on it today until loverboy Lance decided to show off” He shook his head as he pulled out his phone to show Shiro some pictures of the work he had completed thus far.

“Wow…” Shiro sounded breathless as he looked at the photos, “Keith… this is absolutely amazing so far!”

Keith looked up at Shiro while he was distracted at the photos, memorizing the way his eyes lit up, categorizing it, and comparing it to how it looked before the scar marred his face. Something in the back of the brain told him that it looked just fine, that it looked like it belonged there, and didn’t change the fact that it was still Shiro. 

Something else told him that it’s his fault and that voice starts to get louder and louder. 

He wasn’t paying attention anymore as he started to dissociate, the voice in his head reminding him of how much he messed up was louder than anything as everything started to fade away and close in around him. 

Shiro saw the shake in Keith’s hands first as he looked up, seeing that his best friend had a far away look in his eyes as he stared off into space.

“Keith…?” He started, gently, not wanting to scare him.

The phone fell on to the table and Shiro quickly got up and moved to the other side of the table, sitting next to Keith on the bench.

“Hey, buddy? Can you hear me?” 

He waited a few more moments before continuing, “I’m going to touch you ok?” He spoke slowly, hoping that anything he was saying was getting through.

Shiro slowly took Keith’s hand and placed it to his own chest, taking deep breaths as he did, “Keith, buddy, can you breathe with me? Deep breaths in… hold… and out…” He spoke slowly and clearly as he continued breathing.

He kept a close eye on Keith as he noticed that the other was starting to slowly copy his breaths.

“There we go; you’re doing great baby…” He whispered, not even noticing the name that had slipped.

It was another few minutes before Keith was completely back in the present, he shyly removed his hand from Shiro’s chest and looked down at the table. 

“I’m sorry Shiro…” He whispered, not even sure what he was apologizing for. 

“It’s fine, really” Shiro offered another smile as he moved back to give Keith some room. 

Keith just nodded, looking at his phone to check the time, “Shit, my break was up 20 minutes ago...” He sighed as he stood up, putting their trash in the trash can near the table.

“Thank you again for lunch Shiro, I…” Keith trailed off as he glanced towards the back entrance to the shop and saw Kolivan standing there with his arms crossed. 

Before Keith could even say anything, Kolivan was starting to walk towards them.

“Kit, you’re taking the rest of the day off. No buts.”

Keith glared at Kolivan, “I’m fine, it was nothing major.”

Kolivan was silent for a moment and sighed, “Well too bad, the shop is closed up and I’m not allowing overtime, so go home.”

Keith growled at Kolivan, Shiro took a small step back, seeing Keith’s eyes slowly starting to gain a yellow tint and fangs peek out of snarled lips.

“Keith.” Kolivan snarled back, making sure that his fangs were visible as his voice deepened, “Go. Home.”

Keith finally backed down, glaring at Kolivan as he stormed off to where his own motorcycle was on the front drive, not even saying goodbye to Shiro as he quickly got on and sped off down the street.

Shiro let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding as he heard the motorcycle engine fade down the road.

“My apologies that you had to see that Shiro…” Kolivan sighed as he offered a sympathetic look, “He’s still as stubborn as ever and today has been a rough day for him.”

Shiro nodded, “Glad to know he hasn’t changed a bit,” he laughed softly, “I’m sorry if anything I did may have set him off. I feel like that’s all I’ve been doing since last week. Maybe I should just cancel this, pay him for what’s done and take it off his plate. He obviously still isn’t comfortable around me for whatever reason and I-”

“Shiro,” Kolivan cut him off, “Come with me?”

Shiro could only nod as he followed Kolivan back into the garage, which was still fully operating, and into Keith’s work area.

“You see this mural? The day he was discharged from the hospital, he came straight here. Gave his parents a heart attack. He moved everything to the side so he had full access to this wall. The mural wasn’t here then. He spent the entire day working on it, despite all of us telling him not to.”

Kolivan moved around the space and moved Keith’s computer monitor to the side, “He worked eight hours on this, never stopping once. He made sure to give the mural a name. Come see what it says.”

Shiro was nervous, why was Kolivan telling him all of this? He felt the anxiety seeping through his body as he walked to where the title was visible.

There, under a vast nebula, he could see the title scribbled in Keith’s handwriting, ‘The Stars in His Eyes –KK’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Twitter! @Keef_n_Beef


	7. Chapter 7

The week had been great, but the weekend was another story. 

Friday night found Shiro staring at his phone, wondering where everything went wrong. Where he went wrong. 

Saturday went by in a blur, it was a struggle for him to even get out of bed as he continued to wage with his emotions, what he knew, what he saw, and what Kolivan had showed him.

How could he possibly bring it up that he knew about the title? Would it be an invasion of his privacy if he mentioned it? 

On Sunday night, he dreamt about the bar fight for the first time in months that night, he dreamt of a world where he didn’t get in between Keith and his assailant in time and he had to watch in horror as a far worse fate fell upon his best friend. 

It was just before 2 in the morning when he bolted up out of the nightmare, groaning as he looked at his phone, knowing that he was close to his 6am alarm for his morning workout. He decided that leg day just wasn’t worth it as he turned off his alarm and turned over in bed.

Less than a minute later, there was another ding from his phone, given the tone he knew that it was a text message.

“This better be worth it…” He grumbled as he rolled back over and picked up his phone.

> _Hey. Um. Hi. It’s Keith. Uh, wait you already know that._
> 
> _Uh. I doubt you’re awake._
> 
> _Not sure why I’m sending this_
> 
> _If you’re awake, want to meet at Sal’s?_
> 
> _We should talk._
> 
> _I’ll give you like 20 minutes._
> 
> _Sorry for blowing your phone up._

Shiro’s heart was in his throat as the text messages came through, hands shaking a bit as he continued to read everything over. 

> _Meet you at our usual booth, cherrybomb._

He was almost to the door when he remembered that even with the late hour and his friendship with the owner, pants were usually required at dining establishments.

When he pulled up and saw that the parking lot was basically empty, he got worried and checked his phone again, making sure that the text he responded to was a real thing and he hadn’t dreamt it. 

Yawning a bit as he opened the door, Shiro waved to the overnight cook who manned the grill and counter as he went to the booth that he was so used to sitting at.

“Wow Shiro, haven’t seen you here at this hour since you graduated,” Romelle smiled as she brought over a cup of coffee to him, “What trouble did you get into this time?”

Shiro laughed as he thanked her for the coffee, “Nothing, yet. Have you seen Keith? We’re supposed to be meeting…” he trailed off as he heard the sound of another motorcycle coming up the road.

“Well, speak of the devil…” She smirked, “I’ll be in the back if you boys need anything at all. We’ve been dead all night so I doubt you’ll have anyone else joining you” She left with a smile as she went to the kitchen.

Shiro took a sip of his coffee, hearing the bell above the door chime when Keith entered. The coffee suddenly tasted like ash.

A sleep-deprived Keith was something he was used to after so many late-night study sessions. This was different.

Keith looked closer to a zombie as he walked over to the booth. His hair was pulled into the loosest bun possible, still windblown from the drive over. His usually bright eyes were dark, with even darker circles under them as he unceremoniously flopped down into the booth. 

He blinked a few times as he looked at Shiro, “Um. Hi. Sorry.”

Shiro shook his head, “Nothing to apologize for. How are you?”

Keith just stared at him before sighing, “I really look like shit don’t I?”

There was a pause, where Romelle snuck by long enough to drop off a glass of water for Keith and disappearing again, giving the two some space.

“No, don’t answer that.” Keith mumbled as he took a sip of the water, the coldness perking him up just enough to continue speaking. 

“Keith, I-”

“No, please… Let me do this. My therapist said I needed to do this anyway and honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to be this soon because really I wasn’t ready but here I am at 2 am after not sleeping for 2 days so no time like the present, I guess.” Keith let out in one breath, laughing softly at the end. 

Shiro nodded as he took another sip, knowing if he said anything, even to agree, that Keith would stop talking and walk right back out the front door at this point. The sleepless confession had him worried though, they would be talking about that later. 

Keith took a deep breath, “I don’t know if you remember, but I saw you before they discharged you… my wound wasn’t that much so they let me go once it was patched up. They kept you because it was so close to your eyes and they weren’t sure if it had actually done any damage to your nose other than cosmetic.”

“I ran, Shiro.”

There was silence for a minute.

“I ran because I was terrified. I ran because it looked so much worse than we know it ended up being. You were laying there, unconscious, covered in gauze and cords and it was terrifying. I thought I had lost you that night, I didn’t see anything other than blood and you hitting the ground so I didn’t know where he had gotten you…”

Keith trailed off as he took a few breaths to calm himself.

“I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if anything more had happened to you. The fact that your face is permanently fucked up because of me is bad enough.”

Shiro was biting his tongue as Keith continued. 

“You got hurt because I got stupid. I should have known better than to fuck with that guy but I did it anyway. You could have been killed because I couldn’t keep my attitude in check like you’ve taught me so much how to do.”

There was another few moments of silence that settled around them.

“I felt so horrible. I still feel so horrible. This is all my fault and I can’t even believe that you came out here, that you’re still willing to put up with me after I put you through so much and fucked up your face so bad. Shiro, I would do anything for you, I don’t want to force myself back into your life if you don’t’ want me here. I will go, no questions asked. You know I will. Please just say the wo-”

Shiro couldn’t take it anymore as he reached across the table and put his hands on Keith’s, squeezing a bit to bring him back to the present. “Keith.” He muttered sternly. “Keith, look at me.”

Keith looked up, exhaustion coating his features as he did.

“There we are…” He smiled softly as he relaxed his grip but didn’t let go of Keith’s hand. “If I didn’t want you in my life anymore, would I be here at 3 am?” He shook his head, not allowing Keith to answer before continuing, “I want you to be in my life, I miss you, Keith.”

“But Shiro…”

Shiro shook his head again, “No buts, you’re my best friend, and now we have cool matching scars. You’re stuck with me at this point” He laughed a bit as he absentmindedly stroked the back of Keith’s hand with his thumb.

Keith stuttered over his words before finally finding something he could say without sounding like a lovesick idiot, “You’re a dork.”

“You’re right, but I’m your dork” Shiro winked with a yawn. 

“You ok man?” Keith asked through his own yawn.

“Yeah, I slept just about as much as you did honestly”

Keith is quiet before he gets a wicked grin, “Humor me?”

“Oh no, that’s never good.”

Keith’s grin got wider as he got up and went behind the counter and into the kitchen where Romelle was sitting on her phone, coming back a few minutes later. 

A few minutes later, Romelle was dropping off two breakfast specials with extra hash browns and a pot of coffee for the table, “On the house” She winked as she fluttered away again.

Keith wasted no time digging in, “Want to go watch the sunrise over the cliffs? Unless it’s past your bedtime, old-timer” He mumbled around a mouth of hash browns as he poured himself a cup of coffee. 

Shiro nearly choked on his mouthful as he heard Keith’s idea, “Only if you call out of work and go home and get some sleep.”

“Deal. There was no way I was going to work tomorrow anyway at this rate. I think my mom was doing that weird thing where she told Kolivan when I can and can’t work again.”

They ate their meals in relative silence after that, other than casual small talk.

It felt good, it felt natural.

It felt healing.

With full stomachs and coffee running through their veins, Shiro and Keith waved goodbye to Romelle as they started off towards the cliffs that were relatively close to Keith’s house. 

By the time they pulled up and got settled right on the edge of the cliffs, feet dangling over the edge, the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. 

Keith leaned against Shiro, “So you mean what you said, big guy?”

Shiro nodded, “Yeah, I do. I miss you a lot. If you need space and all, we can still take things slowly. If you need to sort things out so this works best for you, that’s fine.”

Their relationship had always been physical. No one knew why, it just was, so even Keith leaning against Shiro like this was just something that was completely normal for them when they were in their own little world together. 

“What did I ever do to deserve you…” Keith trailed off as he watched the colors in the sky slowly shift.

Shiro didn’t know how to answer that question truthfully, “Well there was that one time you stole my car…”

“Oh my god, Shiro!” Keith laughed, playfully shoving Shiro a bit, “You said we weren’t going to talk about that again!”

“It’s literally how we met before you got into the Garrison, so we are still talking about it.”

“Yeah yeah…” Keith grumbled as he shut up again, going back to watching the sky.

Shiro knew what he wanted to do at that moment, but didn’t want to ruin what they had just gotten back after all of this time. He settled for keeping his hands right where they were as they continued to watch the sunrise, the energy for small talk had completely left the both of them at this point. 

Once the main event was over, Shiro helped Keith up and they walked back over to their vehicles. “You’re not driving.”

Keith tried to hide a yawn, “I don’t think I could even if I wanted to” he smiled as he dislodged the kickstand and straightened up his motorcycle, “Will you be ok getting home?”

Shiro looked up at the horizon and saw Keith’s house with more than one light on, knowing that there was a huge chance one or both of his parents were on the porch waiting for him. “Yeah, I’ll be fine, text me when you get home yeah?”

Keith nodded with another yawn as he saluted Shiro, pushing his motorcycle home.

The five-minute walk wasn’t much at all as he parked his motorcycle in its normal place. He took a deep breath, shooting off a text to Shiro before heading inside.

> _Made it home safe and sound sir, thanks for a good night ;)_


	8. Chapter 8

After their heart to heart while watching the sunset, things started to feel more and more comfortable as the days went on.

Shiro was a common occurrence at least twice a week at the shop, coming for a lunch date with Keith and always swinging by on Fridays to see the overall progress on the motorcycle. 

On a Thursday afternoon, Shiro showed up out of nowhere, with a box of donuts and coffee in hand. 

Keith was standing with Kolivan at the desk when the door opened, “Hi can we-Shiro?

Shiro laughed softly, “Sorry for dropping by unexpectedly. Allura gave me the afternoon off and I wanted to bring over some thank you donuts for all you’ve been doing so far and for the office putting up with me showing up.”

Kolivan was eyeing the box as if it was the only important thing in the room.

“From Hunk’s shop, yeah?” Keith finally spoke up as he came out from behind the desk.

“Of course, where else would I go?” Shiro swears he actually saw Kolivan give a full smile. Galra were interesting creatures. 

“Oh you’re about to be everyone’s favorite” Keith laughed as he walked towards the door, “Here, I’ll show you where to put them in the breakroom” 

Shiro laughed in agreement and followed Keith, setting down the box of donuts and cardboard box of coffee next to it. 

“What’s that? New fancy drink?” Keith questioned as he saw Shiro also set down a cold drink.

“Something for you to try actually, they finally got cold brew in at the shop and I know you’ve been looking for a new cold drink to try that wasn’t anything fancy.”

Keith was already halfway through a strawberry donut when Shiro finished his explanation, “Oh, you know me too well” He smirked as he took the drink, taking a sip.

There was a beat of silence.

“Oh, this is magical. Holy shit. Fuck. Wow.”

Shiro wishes that Keith was maybe saying that about something else, but he would take it for now and store that reaction away for when he was alone later that night. 

The two talked for a little bit, Keith taking the chance to show him a new piece he had been working on. 

Shiro’s phone going off interrupted them as he looked down to see who was calling, “I’m sorry, I need to take this.” He looked apologetic as Keith shooed him off, taking another long swig of the cold brew as he puttered around his workspace. 

A few minutes later, Shiro returned, “Sorry to cut this short, a donor of ours out of nowhere wants to do a press conference for a new donation they’re doing, so I got to get going on that. I don’t know if I’ll be able to swing by tomorrow, but it was good to see you” 

Keith nodded, finishing off the cold brew, “Go get ‘em tiger” He smiled as he hugged Shiro goodbye, “Let me know when you’re free again.”

Shiro said a quick goodbye to Kolivan who was for sure buried in a blueberry donut as he left.

The next few hours went by in a whirlwind for Shiro, quickly getting back to the office and getting ready and prepped for a small press conference that would be later that evening, followed by a banquet he also had to attend. The donation being made would be fundamental in them being able to expand their research even further so he had to be on the top of his game.

After a night of wining and dining, Shiro finally stumbled into his bed at one in the morning, Allura had already told him to take the next day off since this had been rather unexpected for all of them. 

He managed to pull himself out of bed long enough to be able to take a shower and get into clean sleep clothes before sinking into his mattress once again. He sent off a text to Keith before calling it a night.

> _Just got home, people never stop talking sometimes, I thought I would never get out of there. Ugh._

He was asleep before he heard his phone go off with a reply.

The next morning, Shiro found himself lounging in his pajamas on his couch, nursing a cup of coffee and breakfast as he scrolled through his phone, nearly jumping out of his skin when the phone rang unexpectedly. 

“Hello?”

“Shiro.” Kolivan’s voice was a bit too stern on the other end.

“Kolivan? Is everything ok?”

“Nothing is broken, but you might want to come down here. Now.” Was all he said before hanging up.

Shiro wasn’t sure how to feel about that as he quickly got dressed and drove to the shop as fast as he legally could.  
When he got to the shop, he was glad to see that it wasn’t in flames as he walked up to the front, seeing Kolivan standing there with his arms crossed.

“Follow me.” Kolivan mumbled as he took Shiro to Keith’s section. “He’s officially banned from whatever was in that coffee you gave him. Krolia said he was up all night, and is just starting to crash. He’s your responsibility for the rest of the day.”

Shiro swallowed as he walked up to Keith’s area, everything looked unassuming as he walked up, Keith had his back to him and looked like he was working on something.

“Keith…?”

There was silence, which was weird. Keith was usually very aware of his surroundings and no matter what would respond pretty quickly.

Shiro sighed as he walked to Keith’s side, he knew this side of Keith. He had seen it a few times after long nights cramming for exams, “Hey buddy… how are you doing?” He gently put his hand on Keith’s.

Keith slowly looked over at him, blinking away the sleepiness in his eyes, “...Shiro?”

Shiro smiled as he rubbed his thumb on the back of Keith’s hand, “Hi. How about we go to the break room? That sound good?” His voice was softer as he tried to convince Keith.

Keith just nodded, “Ok…” as he continued to just sit there, watching Shiro’s thumb on his hand.

“Come with me?” Shiro slowly helped Keith up and walked him to the break room, getting him settled on the couch. 

Keith was a bit of a zombie as he settled into the couch, clumsily grabbing for the blanket on the back of the couch and also Shiro at the same time.

“Wha-? Keith?”

“You bought the coffee. Your fault. Cuddle me.” Keith mumbled into the blanket as he bundled up in it.

Shiro was pretty sure he just died and went to heaven as he very quickly obliged as he wedged himself in between Keith and the arm of the couch, letting Keith settle before pulling the blanket more around the both of them. “Nap time, baby?” He had a feeling that Keith wouldn’t remember any of this conversation, so had no problem letting the nickname out. 

Keith just nodded as he got comfortable, resting his head on Shiro’s chest.

Shiro could have died happily right here. This was all he ever wanted as he helped make sure Keith was comfortable and ran a hand through Keith’s hair, hearing a small purr rumble from his chest.

It was an hour later when Kolivan slowly opened the door to the breakroom, cellphone in hand as he saw that Keith was still asleep cuddled on Shiro’s chest and Shiro was also asleep as well with his head resting on Keith’s. 

He walked into the breakroom only to dim the lights as he quietly closed the door, letting everyone know that the breakroom was off limits for the rest of the day. 

The picture that was now on his phone would not see the light of day until the eventual wedding speech. 

Shiro and Keith continued to have lunch dates almost daily after the cold brew incident, except for the following Thursday when Keith messaged Shiro out of the blue that he was working through his lunch, but that Shiro should get someone to drop him off at the shop after his shift. 

Nerves were building on the ride over to the Marmora Garage, Shiro trusted Keith but he also wasn’t sure what the finished product would look like at all. Keith had stopped sending him update photos at some point so that he didn’t spoil everything.

“It’s going to look fine man, stop freaking out so much” Matt sighed from the drivers seat as he pulled up to the garage, “See you at Sal’s later?”

“Of course” Shiro flashed a smile as he got out of the car.

He took a deep breath before turning to see Keith standing at the garage entrance with a shit-eating grin.

“Hey old-timer”

“Hey yourself” Shiro laughed a bit as he pulled Keith into a hug, “I wasn’t expecting it to be done so fast! You didn’t have another cold brew did you?”

“No, I promise. Kolivan has made sure that they are very much banned from this garage after that whole thing” Keith held the hug a bit longer than was probably necessary, but Shiro wasn’t complaining. 

Keith led Shiro to his corner of the shop where his motorcycle was sitting, covered with a black cloth.

“You ready big boy?” Keith asked, his tone a bit breathier than it probably should have been.

Shiro filed that voice away for later as he nodded, the nerves squashing down anything else his body may be feeling.   
Keith walked around to the motorcycle and pulled the cloth off the motorcycle that was previously hidden.

Shiro forgot how to breathe as he took in all the details.

The gas tank was completely transformed into nebulas that looked like they had been pulled directly out of the cosmos and put onto the body. Shiro also noticed that Keith had put in a few old school space ships and the NASA logo in specific spots, they looked more like stickers than paintings but looked perfectly in place. The fender was also similarly decorated, with more of the black body still showing through. The entire gas tank and fender had been coated with a matte sealant so it didn’t contrast to the other matte parts of the motorcycle. 

“Holy shit…Keith?! This is insane!” Shiro didn’t care as he ran over and pulled Keith into a bone-crushing hug, lifting him off the ground a bit as he did.

Keith was just laughing as he felt his feet leave the ground, he trusted Shiro more than anyone that he would land safely. 

“I’m glad you like it…” Keith muttered with a blush as he felt his feet hit the ground.

“It’s amazing Keith, I never imagined it would be this perfect. Seriously, you are amazing.”

Keith never did well with compliments, ever.

After a moment, he finally spoke up, “So, uh, want to take it for a test drive?”

“That sounds amazing”

The ride out to their favorite stargazing spot in the area was fast and quiet, Keith was on his motorcycle and Shiro on his, they looked like a matching set as they sat next together in the settling dust cloud as they rolled to a stop.

Shiro’s breath was taken away once again as he took his helmet off just as Keith was shaking his long hair free, the setting sun behind him was casting rays that made him look ethereal. 

They were parked right next to each other; he knew that he could easily close the gap between them but wasn’t sure if they had actually gotten to that point yet. 

Keith’s brows furrowed as he looked at Shiro, it just really was unfair how beautiful he looked all the time. Seeing him back on his motorcycle looking like a wet dream made things even worse. He watched as the sunset casted some golden rays onto the white tuft of his hair, painting him in a way Keith hoped he would remember for the rest of his life. 

“Keith, I…” Shiro started, but immediately trailed off, not exactly sure where to go from here.

The chance was right there. 

Keith had always been the risk taking type, but they were always calculated risks. This was something he had been weighing over and over in his mind for months, not sure when the moment would be right, if it ever would be.

Shiro took a deep breath before continuing, “I-”

He was cut off again, but this time by a pair of lips as Keith half threw himself off of his motorcycle to bridge the gap between them and press his lips to Shiro’s for a few moments before pulling away.

There was silence. 

Keith didn’t like silence.

Silence meant he did something bad. Silence meant that Shiro was about to ride away. 

Keith was expecting so many things to happen, but he wasn’t expecting Shiro to slowly lean forward, cup Keith’s cheek in his hand and lean in even closer.

“I have wanted to do this for way too long, baby…” He muttered before pressing his lips to Keith’s. 

The kiss went on a moment longer than it should have, but neither of them wanted the moment to end. When Shiro finally pulled away, he memorized the look in Keith’s eyes and the soft blush on his face. 

“Shiro, I…”

Shiro shook his head, “I love you too, Keith. I’ve loved you for a long time now. I was going to tell you the day after Hunk’s party.”

Keith just stared at him for a moment, thinking back to what he had muttered to Shiro’s unconscious body that night at the bar. He didn’t think Shiro had heard it.

Shiro was about to continue speaking when his phone went off in his pocket, he turned off the alarm as he looked back up to Keith. “So, it’s Thursday… I know it’s been a while since I asked but do you want to come back to the gang?”

The last time that Shiro had asked him this question, he had a panic attack that took days to get over. This time though, this time was different.

“That sounds great, lead the way?” Keith smiled as he put his helmet back on and revved his engine. 

When they arrived at Sal’s it was to cheering from their table and Shiro didn’t miss the money that Hunk was sliding over to Matt as they both sat down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on Twitter! @Keef_n_beef


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hello there!
> 
> Life got in the way once again but I was finally able to figure out just how this story needed to end and I'm so glad!
> 
> Please enjoy!

Keith felt like it had been years since he last sat next to Shiro in their booth, but it also felt like he had never left. Everything fell into place perfectly, Keith’s prolonged absence from the table wasn’t discussed, but rather just what everyone was doing in their day to day lives. 

He missed this, so much.

They hadn’t realized that they all stayed much later than usual until Romelle stopped at their table, “Ok, if I’m here and you guys are still here that means it’s probably past your bedtime” She laughed as she cleared off the table of watered-down drinks and milkshakes.

The first string of curses came from Matt and Pidge when they realized the hell they would be in for as they hastily said their goodbyes, paid their share and left.

Hunk, Allura, and Lance quickly left after that as well, all muttering about early work things in the morning.

Keith was still planted on Shiro’s right side, where he felt most at home. 

Shiro smiled as he looked over at Keith, “Think it’s time to call it a night? Or you ready for round two cherry bomb?”

Keith flushed a bit, “Probably best to call it a night, I told Kolivan I’d help open up the shop tomorrow while Regris is out.”

Shiro nodded as he scooted out of the booth, “Yeah, I have a meeting with Allura at 8 am with a new donor.” He walked over to the counter where Romelle was making a fresh pot of coffee.

“It’s on the house” She winked, “You boys need to go home and get some shut-eye!”

“Thanks” Shiro smiled again, leaving cash on the counter for her anyway before leaving with Keith at his side.

Once they got outside, the air shifted and Keith nervously shifted as he fiddled with his braid,   
“So…I…Um…Are…we uh…”

He was cut off with Shiro surging forward to kiss him again, “God I’ve wanted to do that all night…” He whispered lowly as they parted a few inches, resting his forehead on Keith’s.

Keith blushed as he locked eyes with Shiro, searching for something, anything that would tell him if this was about to go south.

Shiro let him search, he would let Keith turn over every star in every galaxy until he was satisfied. 

Neither of them knew how long the moment went on until Keith finally released whatever breath he had been holding and smiled at Shiro. Truly smiled.   
Shiro reached around and cupped the back of Keith’s neck, “What do you want us to be, baby?” He whispered, his forehead not leaving Keith’s. He wanted Keith to be the one to make the decision of when enough was too much.

“I want…I want to be yours. I want to love you. I want to be with you Takashi, if you’ll have me…” Keith murmured back as he glanced the scar on Shiro’s nose. 

Shiro tried his hardest to capture this exact moment and save it for the rest of his life, the light flush on Keith’s face, the way his accent twisted his first name just enough that it was perfect, the stars twinkling above them as the neon sign for Sal’s buzzed behind them. 

It’s when he is holding his sides from laughing so much while they are painting the living room in their starter home 6 months from now after Kosmo ran through the paint and left paw prints everywhere. He will remember the way that Keith’s fingers gripped onto his shirt.

It’s when he is on one knee in front of Keith in this exact spot a year later that he will say the same words back to Keith while teardrops shine like stars as they fall from Keith’s eyes. He will remember the way that Keith’s eyes shone in the reflection of the lights around them, filled with something akin to curiosity. 

It’s when he is writing his vows two years later that he will remember this moment in the highest definition possible, as if he were right back there again. 

It’s when he says ‘I do’ with tears in his eyes and a lump in his throat while Keith is holding his hands and their friends and family cheer wildly around them that he will remember with pure clarity his answer.

It’s when Keith crashes into him with a kiss before Kolivan can even finish the ceremony that Shiro knows without a doubt that he is the luckiest man alive and he remembers how Keith answered his proposal.

“I’ll always love you and will always have you, as many times as it takes”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on twitter @keef_n_beef


End file.
